


Twelve Roses

by froghyuka



Category: TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Flowers, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Soft Boys, Sweet, University, Yeonbin, flower shop au, minimal angst, short and sweet, yeonbin au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:35:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 15,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22026436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froghyuka/pseuds/froghyuka
Summary: Soobin works in a flower shop and Yeonjun buys flowers a lot to see him, but Soobin thinks Yeonjun already has someone in his life that he spoils with flowers.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Kang Taehyun, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun
Comments: 84
Kudos: 891





	1. Open for Business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [vietnamese translation here!](https://www.wattpad.com/story/218146965?utm_source=ios&utm_medium=link&utm_content=story_info&wp_page=story_details&wp_uname=ahnn0802&wp_originator=j32Xg8oPQDNmwjTwKX4VThY0eGc52KDmdmSWh4uYImgPe7wGRnqBKxgVLypSDQXhwTYSfkiEH46r6nBGRN00nNJSMv6w8HPZ%2BoLjZWLgxX442FI0I1OqZDy6x6czOWF9&_branch_match_id=802392447509961995)
> 
> [russian translation here!](https://ficbook.net/readfic/9603442)

Soobin slipped his apron around his neck and tied it in the back. He ran his hands along the front of it, smoothing out the dark blue fabric, taking a moment to appreciate the cottony softness of his work uniform. He attached his name tag to his apron, right over his heart. He clocked in and slipped the key in the lock to open the front doors. He flipped the sign from “Closed” to “Open” and returned to his place behind the counter. He took a deep inhale to breathe in the perfume of the flowers. After working at the shop for so long, he still loved the way the scent of roses tangled with the tulips and lilies and orchids.

Soobin had been working at the shop for a few months now, and though the work could be tedious and the shifts could be long, he still looked forward to going into work every day. It was the perfect job for him. The shop was never too busy, and Mrs. Lee trusted him enough to open the store by himself now. This meant he could choose the music they played while he worked, and when they weren’t busy, he could work on homework or other projects. Currently, he was into journaling, but in the past, he had read or drawn in that downtime. It was actually in one of those self-help books he read on the job that gave him the idea to start journaling. The book had said journaling was supposed to be a way to become more connected with oneself. Apparently, many people used it as a way to sort through and solve their problems. And, well, Soobin was having a big problem of his own. 

A chime of a bell sounded, signaling a customer. Soobin looked up and, sure enough, his problem strolled right through the front door. 

Yeonjun walked in a big goofy smile on his face. His hair was freshly dyed: bright blue this time. It looked good on him, much to Soobin’s dismay. The new color made his eyes light up just the tiniest bit more than they typically did. But Soobin wasn’t thinking about that. He was decidedly not thinking about that. 

No matter how many times Yeonjun came to the shop (this was his second time this week), he always spent an absurd amount of time picking out his purchase. He stared at the display flowers and the bouquets in the fridges as if it was his first time in the shop. It irritated Soobin to no end. Not because he didn’t like the boy. No, it was because he did like the boy. And every time Yeonjun was in the shop, Soobin felt like he couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe. He wished Yeonjun would hurry up so he could relax. But, he did enjoy the view. 

And that was Soobin’s problem. He liked Yeonjun so much that his body tensed up when he entered the store, and his heart kept racing several minutes after he left. And he couldn’t do anything about it. Because Yeonjun wasn’t available. Why else would he buy flowers multiple times a week with a dumb lovestruck grin on his face? 

The whole situation angered Soobin. Brought out a side of himself that he didn’t particularly like. Because it was Saturday morning and all he could think about was how Yeonjun was buying flowers for someone that wasn’t him and then probably going to spend a long and magical day with someone that wasn’t him. He was deeply envious, and his mother had always told him that green wasn’t his color. 

Soobin absently tapped his fingers on the counter as he watched Yeonjun. Yeonjun’s pursed his lips and held his chin in his hand as he studied the flowers. After an agonizingly long time, he made a selection. Pink roses. Soobin felt the monster of jealousy roar up inside him. Roses were some of the most popular flowers they sold… especially for couples. Still, he wrapped them up and tied a blue ribbon around them. He had chosen the color because it matched Yeonjun’s hair. If Yeonjun noticed, he didn’t say a word. 

He rang him up, as usual, ready for Yeonjun to leave so he could calm down, when Yeonjun said, “Thank you,” his eyes flicked to his name tag, “Soobin.” And then he left.

Soobin’s mind started racing. This was the first time Yeonjun had ever said his name. He had to stop himself from analyzing what it meant. “He was just being polite,” he muttered to himself.

Still, this was definitely going into his journal. 


	2. Change of Plans

Yeonjun tossed the flowers at Taehyun. The younger boy clamored to see what today’s selection was. 

“The ribbon matches your hair,” Taehyun noted. 

Yeonjun cracked a big smile. “Really? It really does? Are you sure?” Yeonjun slid into the booth across from his friend. “I mean, um, that’s cool.” Yeonjun tried to hide his blush.

“You’ve given me at least 20 bouquets of flowers in just a couple of months. I’m not stupid. I know there must be a boy.” 

No matter how he tried, Yeonjun could never hide anything from clever Taehyun. But even if he wasn’t so clever, the sheer number of flowers had to give him away. Initially, Yeonjun gave them to his mother, or his teachers. He even left them on benches around town. He had hoped they could make other people smile the way the boy who sold him the flowers made him smile. But one day, before he had time to head out and place them on a bench, Taehyun had asked him to hang out. Once he saw the flowers, he begged Yeonjun to let them have them. Ever since then, Taehyun received all of Yeonjun’s flower packages.

“Hey, what do you do with all these flowers?” Yeonjun had been to Taehyun’s home and not seen any trace of them.

“Don’t try and change the subject. But, if you must know, I give them to someone who is pretty and likes flowers.” Taehyun said matter-of-factly. “Now, get to talking.” Yeonjun pocketed that little fact in the back of his mind, planning to return to it later. 

Yeonjun buried his head in his hands to hide his embarrassment. “He works at the flower shop. That’s why...” he nodded at the flowers. “I had to go there one time to pick up some flowers for my grandma, and there he was. He was reading when I walked in, and I was so quiet that he didn’t even notice me come in. I had to clear my throat to get his attention. After that, he was so flustered, he apologized to me like 40 times within the span of five minutes. It was so cute.” Yeonjun had to stop and take a breath there, lest he bubble over from the excitement of the memory. He shook himself back into the moment. “And not only that, but he is so beautiful. Like, I don’t even know what words I could say to get you to understand how beautiful he is. It’s like, the universe or whatever spends a day creating everyone in the world. Except with him, they must have spent a year. Like, they really really wanted to get him right. And they did.” He paused, “So, uh, now I buy flowers a lot.”

“Do you know anything about him?” Taehyun asked.

“I know his name. Soobin.” Yeonjun said it as if it was the most important word in any language ever created. 

“Anything else?”

Yeonjun sighed. “No. But I don’t need to know more to know that he’s perfect.”

Taehyun smacked him on the side of his head with his menu. 

“What was that for?”

“You’re being stupid! Do you know how much money you could have saved if you just talked to him?”

“I do talk to him,” Yeonjun said defensively. “I tell him what flowers I want. I even said his name today!”

“Oh, well, in that case, don’t forget to invite me to the wedding!”

Yeonjun pouted, “Taehyun, you can be really mean you know that, right?”

Taehyun rested his hands on the table and looked into Yeonjun’s eyes. “Okay, I’ll be serious. Talk to him. Nothing is going to happen if you keep wasting your money on flowers all the time. You literally have nothing to lose.”

“But what if he doesn’t like me?”

“Then, oh well, too bad, try again next time. You don’t know anything about him, and you just think he’s cute, are you really gonna be that hurt if a stranger doesn’t like you back?”

Yeonjun screwed up his face, pondering Taehyun’s words. “You know, even though that was helpful, it was still mean. And since when did you know so much about this kind of stuff?”

“I do pretty well for myself,” Taehyun smirked and took a sip of his drink. 

If Yeonjun wasn’t so wrapped up in his own predicament, he would have pressed further. But instead, he decided to let his best friend have his secrets. 

Yeonjun swallowed his pride. Taehyun was right. If he wanted to be happy, if he wanted Soobin, he’d have to change tactics. “Okay, then help me.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”


	3. Lists

In Soobin’s journal, there is a series of lists, scribbled out in a hurry. To-do lists, grocery lists, lists of his favorite flowers, lists of his least favorite flowers. There’s even two lists of possible majors: ones he would like to pursue and ones his parents wished he would pursue. But there is one list of particular interest. The list is simply titled:

Yeonjun

It is a short list, but with a blank space underneath, like there is room to add more. His handwriting is long and loopy as if he put time into writing each individual letter. There are only four entries, yet they speak volumes.

1\. Soft yet sharp eyes  
2\. The way he says my name  
3\. The shape of his mouth  
4\. He’s not afraid to express himself

This is the one thing in his journal etched in pen and not pencil.


	4. Tests and Theories

The next few weeks were unbearable for Soobin. Not only was Yeonjun coming in just as often- if not more- but now he was trying to make conversation. It was absolutely agonizing. Of course, Soobin loved every minute of it. And then hated himself for enjoying it. 

At first, it was just harmless small talk. Yeonjun asked him where he went to school, what year he was, what he was studying (the local university, freshman, and his major was still undecided, much to his parents’ dismay). Yeonjun went to the same school, but he was a year ahead of Soobin and studying business with a focus on management. But then, Yeonjun wanted to know more. Yeonjun always asked so many questions, and Soobin wondered if he noticed that Soobin never asked any questions in return. Not because he didn’t want to know, but because he was afraid if he knew too much, this feeling- this crush- would never go away. He already knew too much, was already in too deep. He wished he could forget the way Yeonjun’s eyes squeezed tight when he smiled, but he saw it every night in his dreams. He also hated how good it felt to be the one making Yeonjun laugh. Him. Soobin. Not anyone else. 

But despite those glowing, sunlit moments, every time Yeonjun completed his purchase, Soobin remembered. Remembered that he would always be the one selling the flowers, never the one receiving them. 

Almost as if he was summoned, Yeonjun barrelled through the door. He surveyed the shop, saw that it was empty, and sat down at one of the small circular tables. A table for two. Soobin had never understood why they had tables at a flower shop, but it had never angered him until this moment when Yeonjun was waving him over to sit with him.

“They must be working you hard, you’re always here,” Yeonjun observed.

“So are you.”

“Yeah, I, um have a lot of floral needs,” Soobin noted that Yeonjun was playing with his hands as he said it. “Anyways,” Yeonjun changed the topic quickly, which Soobin also noted, “do you know Harry Potter?”

Soobin almost scoffed. Of course he knows Harry Potter, who doesn’t? He said as much to Yeonjun. 

Yeonjun started talking, but Soobin was still thinking about the stark change in topic. Was Yeonjun that uncomfortable with him that he didn’t even want to talk about his relationship with him? Soobin should have been relieved; after all, hearing Yeonjun get all ooey gooey about someone might be more than he could bear. Still, he was upset, and wished Yeonjun trusted him with that information. It was an irrational wish, as they were nothing more than glorified strangers, but he wanted to know everything about this boy sitting in front of him, even the parts he didn’t want to hear. 

Yeonjun was looking at Soobin expectantly. “I’m sorry, what?” Soobin asked.

Yeonjun laughed, throwing his head back slightly. “I said, I was wondering what your Hogwarts House is. You see, I have this hypothesis about professions and Hogwarts Houses, and I need to see if yours fits my theory.”

Soobin tried his best to suppress his smile. This was not just small talk. This could lead to a real conversation. A real conversation! He pondered his answer, wanting it to be perfect. He wanted his response to open the door to more conversation, not slam it in his face. 

“Well, I guess it’s kind of complicated. Deep down, I’m sure I’m probably a Hufflepuff. But I want to be a Gryffindor.”

“Want to be a Gryffindor- like you want to be considered one or like you wish you possessed the traits of a Gryffindor?”

“Both, I guess. I just don’t know if I can be one because I don’t consider myself courageous. I wish I was just the kind of person who could just go after what I want without fear.” Soobin looked everywhere but Yeonjun as he said this.

“So, you’re not sure?”

“I guess not.”

“You know, there are tests you can take online.”

Soobin sighed, “I’ve taken the official test, it wasn’t any help.”

Yeonjun shook his head. “I don’t mean that test. Do you know the MBTI?” The blank look on Soobin’s face must have indicated that he didn’t. “Oh, well, it’s a really in-depth personality test. Maybe it can help you figure out your house.”

Soobin looked outside, making sure no prospective customers were on their way. “Okay, I’ll take it.” As he typed in the website that Yeonjun told him, he asked, “What yours? Your house, I mean.”

“Slytherin,” he flashed a toothy grin. 

Soobin had a hard time believing him. His best friend, Beomgyu, was a Slytherin, and he was nothing like Yeonjun. Frankly, he was a lot meaner. 

Once he maneuvered his way to the site on his phone, Soobin began taking the test. Yeonjun was right- it was very in-depth. While he took the test, Yeonjun walked around the shop. Soobin glanced up and saw Yeonjun smile down at his phone and felt his momentary hope dashed again. 

“Isfip? That doesn’t make any sense,” Soobin said once the results were in. Soobin jumped at the loud cackle coming from Yeonjun.

Yeonjun was laughing so hard he had to start his sentence over several times before getting it all out. “That’s not a word! They’re letters! It’s ISFP.”

Soobin felt his cheeks heat. “What does that mean?”

“The letters stand for things, I don’t remember what but I know they stand for something. For each letter, there are two options. I’m an ENFP.”

“We’re FP buddies!” Soobin blurted and then immediately wished he hadn’t. Luckily, Yeonjun seemed to like it. 

Yeonjun grabbed his chair and moved it around to Soobin’s side of the table so they could read what his results meant together. Soobin tried not to think about how this was the closest the two of them had ever been before. Of course, trying not to think about it meant he was painfully aware of it. They provided commentary as they read but were both startlingly quiet during the romantic relationships section. 

“Adventurer? That sounds pretty Gryffindor to me,” Soobin concluded.

“Maybe you’re braver than you thought.”

The bell chimed, and the boys jumped as a customer walked through the door. Soobin ran behind the counter, and Yeonjun moved to leave, but first, Soobin called out, “So, did I fit your theory?”

“What theory?” Yeonjun asked, genuine confusion on his face. Then, for the first time, he left the shop without buying any flowers.


	5. One Sunflower

“Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up!” Yeonjun demanded into his phone.

Taehyun, on the other end, said, “You know I picked up like 30 seconds ago, so you were really yelling for nothing.”

“Taehyun now is not the time for this!” 

“Okay, so what is it the time for?” 

“I was just at the flower shop, you know, to talk to Soobin like you told me to, and I left without buying any flowers!”

“I’m not seeing the problem. You’re talking to him and saving money. It’s perfect!”

Yeonjun took a deep breath. Taehyun could be so thick sometimes. “No! It’s bad! It’s so bad! Didn’t you hear me? I left without buying anything! If I don’t buy anything, then he’s gonna know I didn’t come there for flowers! And if I didn’t go there for flowers…”

“Who cares!” Yeonjun jumped at Taehyun’s harsh tone. “Who cares if he knows you go there for him? You know if you start a relationship with him, he’s gonna find out that you like him.” Yeonjun wished Taehyun was there so he could punch him. 

“But I’m not ready for him to find out yet!”

“Send me a picture of this dude. I gotta see what all the fuss is about.” 

“Hold on,” Yeonjun ordered.

Yeonjun inched back towards the shop. He was still on the street outside of it, as he had called Taehyun immediately after he left. He peeked through the window to see Soobin was still helping the customer who had interrupted them. She looked like a nice old lady, but Yeonjun couldn’t help hoping she would burn up on the spot. Soobin was pointing to the flowers and talking using animated gestures, a smile on his face while he did so. Yeonjun could tell Soobin loved his job; more than most people their age loved their part-time jobs. It made him all the more endearing. Taehyun coughed on the other end of the line, and Yeonjun remembered his mission. He quickly snapped a photo and dashed out of sight. He sent the photo to Taehyun right away.

“Oh,” Taehyun said. “Now I understand why you’re being so stupid. This boy looks very-”

“Don’t get any ideas,” Yeonjun cut him off. 

“Okay, I will nobly step aside and let you have him. He’s not my type anyways.” Again, the urge to punch his best friend crept up on Yeonjun. “So, what are you gonna do?”

“I’m gonna ask him to hang out,” Yeonjun said with conviction in his voice. Then Yeonjun set off at a brisk pace.

“Then why are you still talking to me?”

“Because I’m too scared to do it today,” Yeonjun stated as every step took him further from the shop and from Soobin.

  
/////

Yeonjun had taken his time getting ready this morning. He wanted to wear his best outfit even though wearing his best outfit today meant he’d have to scavenge to find something better if Soobin said yes. But that was an issue for another day. If it ever became an issue at all. If Soobin saw him as anything more than an annoying customer he only entertained to keep Yeonjun’s business. But that was a negative thought, and Yeonjun needed all the positive energy he could muster today.

Yeonjun considered himself a fairly confident person under normal circumstances. But Soobin was not normal circumstances. And in situations like this, Yeonjun derived confidence from his clothes, which is why his outfit had to be perfect. He had selected his favorite pair of skinny jeans and put them over brown suede boots. On top, he wore a plain white t-shirt and the star of his outfit: the jacket. It was one of the most expensive pieces of clothing that he owned, one of his most prized possessions. It was a black leather jacket with a soft textured collar. He added a black belt and fingerless gloves as it was forecasted to be a bit chilly. It was the perfect outfit for the occasion. It looked effortless, and Soobin would have no idea how much hair Yeonjun had almost pulled out in the process of picking it out.

Yeonjun headed straight for the shop; the path memorized like the words of his favorite song. He rehearsed what he was going to say the whole way there. He wanted to come off cool and casual and not show all of his cards right away. He just had to figure out how to pull that off. 

Of course, he was a bundle of nerves. But Yeonjun wasn’t worried about that. He always felt that way before meeting Soobin, but once he got there, the feeling went away. Soobin was always so easy to talk to. He was never worried about saying the wrong thing because Soobin was so kind about everything. Yes, he wanted Soobin to like him, but unlike with people in his past, Yeonjun didn’t have to try so hard. For once, Yeonjun wished to show his real self, and that was such a rush. 

Having finally arrived both at the shop and at a plan of what to say, he took a deep breath and opened the door, running a hand through his blue hair as he did so. At the chime of the bell, Soobin looked up from what he was doing. From what Yeonjun could tell, he had been writing something. 

Soobin was wearing a white button-down under his dark blue apron. Yeonjun noticed he wore white button-downs quite often. It wasn’t part of his uniform because he had worn t-shirts and sweaters before, so Soobin must’ve favored the simple article of clothing. The white should have washed him out, but somehow, it brightened his complexion. To Yeonjun, he looked like he was glowing.

“Hi, Yeonjun,” Soobin said with a smile, and Yeonjun exploded inside just a little bit. 

“Hi,” just as Yeonjun expected, all of his worries melted away at the sight of Soobin. “Just one sunflower, please.” His order had been planned out beforehand. Mainly because it was cheap and he was running out of money.

“That’ll be all?”

Yeonjun even planned that too. Soobin always asked that after Yeonjun made a smaller order. 

“Actually no,” this startled Soobin. “I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me, you know when you’re not working.”

The space in between his words and Soobin’s was unbearably long. First, Soobin plucked a sunflower and did all the usual flower stuff that Yeonjun didn’t understand but fascinated him anyways. The wait tore Yeonjun apart, and he wondered if Soobin had seen his plan and if he had one of his own.

It wasn’t until Soobin handed Yeonjun the flower, and Yeonjun handed over his credit card that Soobin said, “Yeah, sounds like fun.”


	6. Into the Unknown

“Into the unknown! Into the unknown! Into the UNKNOWN!” Beomgyu belted, a little too close to Soobin’s ear.

“Beomgyu!” Soobin yelled. “Can you focus? If you don’t stop, I’m gonna kick you out.” He got up and hit pause on the speaker that was blasting the Frozen 2 soundtrack.

“Aw,” Beomgyu pouted, “You’re just mad because I take all of Elsa’s parts in our sing-alongs. Besides, you can’t kick me out, you need me. You really wanna be stuck wearing a white button-up to see your beloved Yeonjun?” He said Yeonjun’s name in a sing-songy voice.

It was true, Soobin had invited Beomgyu over to help him pick out an outfit for his day with Yeonjun. The trouble was, he had to pick out an outfit that was nice, but not too nice, or else Yeonjun would get the wrong impression. Or, in this case, the right impression. So, this was much more Beomgyu’s area of expertise.

“Hey! I don’t mind being Anna!”

“Please,” Beomgyu stretched the word out as he lounged on Soobin’s bed. “No one wants to be Anna. She doesn’t even have any powers!”

“Rapunzel doesn’t have any powers, and everyone still wants to be her.” Soobin countered.

“Aren’t you forgetting something? You know, magic hair?”

“Hey! That’s not the same, and you know it!”

Beomgyu must have decided to back off because he changed the topic. Soobin would not stand for any Rapunzel slander, and Beomgyu knew that.

“So you really just said, ‘Sounds like fun?’”

“Well, I said more afterward! Like when we picked the date and time!” Soobin defended himself.

Beomgyu stood up and started rooting through Soobin’s closest. “While I’m here, do you need advice on how to talk to boys too?”

“What’s wrong with what I said?”

Beomgyu laughed. “It was lame! It sounded like you didn’t really care!”

Soobin puffed out a sigh. “I was in shock, honestly. I started panicking as soon as he asked. I didn’t even know if I was going to say yes or no until I had already said it. Besides, I’m supposed to not care! I can’t like him, and he can’t know I like him.”

“Please, he’s in a relationship, not married!”

“Beomgyu!” Soobin shrieked.

“What?” Beomgyu tapped his temple. “I’m just saying, those kinds of things aren’t permanent.” He started throwing shirts onto the floor and muttering something about Soobin’s fashion sense.

“I don’t want to be responsible for breaking anyone up.”

“Stop that!” Beomgyu scolded Soobin, as the older boy had begun picking at his fingernails. “And I’m sorry, but are you sure you aren’t already?”

“What?”

Beomgyu looked him dead in the eyes. Beomgyu, his goofy, loud, talkative friend, was rarely serious, but when he was. Oh boy. “Think about it. He didn’t buy flowers that one time, and now he wants to hang out? You may be the smart one here, but I can still connect some dots too.”

“Beomgyu, I really appreciate you’re trying to help, but I know that’s not what’s going on. He still has someone, I can feel it. Loving someone so much you buy them flowers for months? That doesn’t just go away because of- well, because of someone like me. And anyway, we’re going shopping together, can you think of a more platonic activity?”

Beomgyu didn’t look convinced. Honestly, neither was Soobin. He was almost 99% sure that Yeonjun was still unavailable. Still, that 1% nagged him, but he didn’t want the guilt or the pressure that came with that line of thinking.

“Whatever, you know, I still support you whether or not you’re a homewrecker.” Beomgyu pivoted to look at the heaping pile of clothes on the ground. “Is this really all you own?” Soobin nodded. “Good thing I came prepared!”

“What?” Soobin tried to ask, but it was no use; Beomgyu had already run out the door.

Within moments, he was back, lugging a black bag.

“Now, you’ll have to wear your own pants because you’re freakishly tall, but one of these tops should work.”

Soobin chuckled, despite the insult. “Did you really have so little faith in me that you brought your own clothes?”

“Yes.”

Soobin watched as Beomgyu started pulling shirts and jackets out, putting some together and then swapping them in a frenzy that made little sense to Soobin.

Beomgyu turned to look at him. “You might want to get some snacks, this could take a while.” Soobin bolted out of his room- he didn’t need to be told twice when it came to snacks.

By the time he was back from the bakery down the street with his favorite treats, Beomgyu had narrowed it down to two outfits. He held them up for Soobin. “Pick one.”

The one on the left looked more like Soobin’s style, so he pointed to that one. “Perfect,” Beomgyu said before tossing that one aside. He presented the other look to Soobin. “This is what you’ll be wearing.”

“But that’s not the one I picked!”

“Exactly,” Beomgyu winked. “Now, get dressed! I need to see how it looks on.”

While Soobin changed clothes, Beomgyu unpaused the music and resumed his singing session. “You know, you’re kind of going into the unknown too!” He shouted to Soobin over the music.

“What do you mean? You’ve been on dates before,” Soobin said as he wrestled into Beomgyu’s shirt. Once he had it on properly, he corrected, “Not that this is a date.”

“Yeah, I have, but not with anyone I actually liked. You’re the first of us! Who would’ve guessed? Not me, that’s for sure.”

“Shut up. Okay, how do I look?”

Beomgyu studied him, circling around him to look at him from every angle. Soobin couldn’t help but feel absolutely ridiculous.

“Not bad, Elsa.”

Looking himself up and down in the mirror, Soobin supposed he looked better than usual. He couldn’t really tell, though, but if it was good enough for Beomgyu, it would be good enough for Yeonjun.

Soobin tossed Beomgyu his favorite bread from the bakery, “Here’s your payment, thank you for your service. I’ve got to get going if I wanna meet him on time.”

Beomgyu started fake crying. “Where are you going? Don’t leave me alone!” He sang along with the song. “How do I follow you-”

Soobin joined in as he walked out the door, “Into the unknown!”


	7. Sun and Moon

  
“How do I look?” Yeonjun turned the FaceTime camera around so that Taehyun could see Yeonjun’s outfit in the mirror. 

“You look good, and you’re gonna do great!” Taehyun encouraged. 

Yeonjun flipped the camera back around. “Thank you! You know, if this goes well, I won’t have to buy any more flowers, I hope your friend is okay with that. Whoever it is…”

“If I tell you about him, will you stop asking?”

“Aha! So it’s a him!”

“Do you want to know or not?”

“Yes, yes, yes, please tell me, tell me, tell me!” Yeonjun begged.

Taehyun started smiling as he spoke. “He’s in my grade, and his name is Huening Kai. He’s really tall and cute, but I’m afraid he’s dreadfully oblivious.”

“You’ve been giving him all the flowers I’ve given you, right? And he still doesn’t know?”

“I told you! He’s oblivious! But I think I’m making progress. I’m hopeful.” 

“Aw, my little Taehyunie is growing up so fast. I’m so proud! Double date soon?”

Taehyun stuck his tongue out, “Only if you don’t mess things up with flower boy.”

“I’ll do my best.” Yeonjun checked the time. “Okay, I’ve got to go! Talk later, okay!” He waved at the camera, hung up on Taehyun, and headed out.

Yeonjun got to the meeting place at least 10 minutes early. But as he approached, he saw that Soobin was already there. Yeonjun slowed his pace, taking in the view. He took in Soobin’s outfit- it was different than anything he had seen Soobin wear before. He was wearing black jeans and a soft white turtleneck under a long gray checked coat. He looked expensive and intimidatingly beautiful. It was made him look very tall, something Yeonjun hadn’t really noticed until this moment. Yeonjun suddenly felt very small in his green sweater and black beret. 

“Hey,” Yeonjun said when he reached Soobin, bumping him with his elbow.

“Hey,” Soobin, as always, greeted him with a warm smile. They stood there, just looking at each other, goofy grins plastered on their faces until Soobin cleared his throat, “So, um, ready to go?”

They started heading towards the shopping district. They were downtown, where most of the shops were. It was a beautiful part of the city, cute stores and little boutiques on one side of the street, pubs, and restaurants on the other. The cobblestone streets were decorated with pots of pink flowers hanging from notches on the steel lampposts, glowing already despite the time of day. 

Yeonjun pointed these flowers out to Soobin, “What kind are those?”

“Oh! Those are a kind of petunia! They’re actually some of my favorites. We don’t sell a lot of them at the shop because they don’t work well in bouquets, you see, they get crushed easily. But these look great!” Soobin walked up to a lamppost to inspect further. “These ones look like they self-water. See, there’s a reservoir of water there…” Soobin turned to Yeonjun. “I’m probably boring you, aren’t I?”

Everything he was saying was going over Yeonjun’s head, but he still liked to hear Soobin talk with so much passion and energy. “No, it’s actually kind of cute.”

Soobin started coughing and sputtering and then immediately pointed to the nearest shop and pulled Yeonjun in. Yeonjun giggled, hoping he was the cause of Soobin’s flustered manner. 

Soobin had dragged them into a boutique full of all sorts of jewelry. Yeonjun ran immediately for the rings, looking to see if there were any he wanted to add his collection. After finding none that satisfied him, he met Soobin by the bracelets. There was a silver one with a moon charm that he quite liked. He picked it up and noticed it was part of a set, the second one a matching gold bracelet with a little sun. 

“This is cute,” he said, more to himself than Soobin. “Matching bracelets, should I get them?”

Soobin swallowed, “Um, for who?”

“Us?”

“Oh?” Soobin still looked confused. “Oh, um, yeah! You should get them!”

The two boys surveyed the rest of the shop, and Yeonjun made his purchase. As soon as they stepped outside, he ripped the packaging and took out the bracelets. Tossing the sun one to Soobin, Yeonjun clasped his own bracelet with ease. He looked over to see Soobin struggling to get his own on. 

“Here, let me help.” He took the bracelet from Soobin’s hand and gently pushed up Soobin’s sleeves. His skin was warm and soft, and every time he brushed against it, a zip of electricity ran through him. He quickly clasped Soobin’s bracelet. He looked up at Soobin, whose brown eyes were already looking at him. Yeonjun looked at him- really looked at him. The subtle upturn of his pink lips, his black bangs reaching just shy of his round eyes, so different from the sharp shape of Yeonjun’s own eyes. Everything about Soobin was smooth and safe, from the slope of his nose to his creamy skin. It suddenly made sense that he worked with flowers- he fit right in with them.

Both boys jumped away from each other and moved towards the other shops. They entered many clothing stores, Yeonjun having purchased a fluffy red jacket, while Soobin hadn’t found anything he’d liked.

Out of the corner of his eye, Yeonjun noticed a bright sweater. It was lime green with light blue stripes. He picked it up and showed it to Soobin. “Try this one on!” he suggested. 

Soobin grabbed it and headed for the fitting rooms. While he was changing, Yeonjun paced back and forth. When Soobin slid open the curtain and stepped out, he stepped right in front of where Yeonjun was pacing. They bumped into each other, and Soobin grabbed Yeonjun’s forearms so he wouldn’t fall back. Their faces were inches apart, so close Yeonjun could feel Soobin’s breath on his face. Yeonjun inched forward, almost imperceptibly, but Soobin turned away and coughed again. He let go of Yeonjun’s arms and went to check out the sweater in the mirror.

Yeonjun smiled smugly, proud of his selection. Of course, the bright sweater looked goofy with black jeans, but somehow, it still worked on Soobin.

“What do you think?” Soobin asked.

“I love it!”

“Well then, I think I’ll get it.” Soobin ran back to change into his clothes and purchase the sweater.

After a long day of walking around, running in and out of shops, and dodging slow walkers on the street, the two decided to stop for some bubble tea. 

They sat at a small table while they waited for their order. Yeonjun noticed that Soobin was fidgeting with his new bracelet.

“I had a great time today, thank you for inviting me,” Soobin said.

“I figured you wanted to get out of that shop.”

“Hey! I like it there! Plus,” Soobin made a show of sniffing the air, “it smells better than here.”

“Well, I needed someone to control me, or else I’ll buy everything I see.”

“Glad I could be your conscience for the day. And thank you for picking that out for me, it’s not something I think I would have ever chosen for myself,” he eyed his shopping bag on the chair next to him. 

Yeonjun noticed Soobin’s hand resting on the table and knew that if he was ever going to make a move, now was the time. He reached for his hand but barely grazed it before Soobin yanked it out of his grasp. 

Soobin stood up abruptly and gathered his things, “Um, well, um, I’ve got to get going so, um, thank you again, and I’ll see you… eventually.” 

He was out the door before their order was even ready, leaving Yeonjun with two drinks and a lot to think about. 


	8. After

This was the third time this week that Soobin had dropped his shift at the store. His boss didn’t mind; he was a good enough employee every other week of the year that she let this slide. Lia, the other girl who worked there, didn’t seem to mind either; apparently, she needed the hours, and well, Soobin had been hogging them to see a certain someone.

The same certain someone that he was now avoiding. During the one shift that he had worked, he was tense the whole time, like a wind-up toy that had been wound up almost all the way, but not quite. He ached for someone to turn him just one more notch and release all the pressure he had built up. He’d been so worried that Yeonjun would walk in and confront him about his sudden exit, and frankly, he wasn’t ready for that conversation. So he canceled every shift after that. He knew he was being cowardly, and he hated it. Especially after what Yeonjun had said to him that one day. “Maybe you’re braver than you thought.” No, he wasn’t, and here was the proof. 

Because that’s why he ran away, wasn’t it? Fear. Not of Yeonjun. Not of his feelings. No, those he was perfectly familiar with. Despite any turmoil they might have caused him, he was not afraid to admit to himself that he liked Yeonjun. No, it was a different fear. It was something Beomgyu said. 

They were having an incredible day, one of the best of Soobin’s life. It was going better than he could have ever imagined. All those subtle touches, long pauses, and stolen moments made his heart grow wings. But those were accidental, right? But when Yeonjun reached for his hand- if that’s even what happened and wasn’t just some figment of Soobin’s imagination- Beomgyu’s words screamed in his mind. The idea that he might be responsible for someone else’s pain and heartbreak, well, he couldn’t handle it. He was just Soobin- he didn’t think he was anything extraordinary or special. Sure, he was kind and tall- he supposed that was a good quality- and sometimes he could be cute, but he was just Soobin. He wasn’t worth all this. 

And what Soobin hated the most was that he didn’t do anything to stop it. If left to his own devices, he would give in to Yeonjun, and he knew it. He hated that it took all day for him to stop being selfish. He should have bolted the minute Yeonjun’s gaze lingered, or when he purposely fumbled with his bracelet so that Yeonjun would have to put it on him. But when he was around Yeonjun there was no right or wrong, no good or bad, there was just. Him.

Soobin had no idea what to do next. But for now, laying in bed seemed like a good idea. Laying in bed prevented him from being destructive, or dumb, or doing something he might regret, so he stayed there, hoping an idea would come to him. 

He wanted to see Yeonjun, and he knew that he would eventually, no matter how long he put it off. Should he proceed as usual? Like nothing ever happened? But surely Yeonjun would ask about it. Should he confront him? After all, if Yeonjun was the sort of person to spend a whole day almost flirting with someone other than his partner, Soobin wasn’t sure if he wanted to be involved with him.

Soobin decided to do what he did best: putting off making a real decision until later. At the moment, he was content to lay there, staring at the little sun on his bracelet and thinking about his moon, wherever he may be.


	9. Glow

Yeonjun had spent the last few days racking his brain for any kind of explanation for Soobin’s departure. Was it something he said? Or did? Was he moving too fast? Had he made up this… attraction in his head?

No, he was sure about that last one. There was something there. He felt it in the static of the air between them, like two magnets drawn to each other but not free to connect. Why weren’t they free?

He hoped he was overthinking it- that Soobin just had an appointment or something to rush home to. But Yeonjun couldn’t help but notice that Soobin left as he was starting to make a move. That had to mean something, didn’t it? But what? If he didn’t see Yeonjun that way, he would have just rejected him. Instead, he was flustered and almost seemed confused. Yeonjun supposed that was better than indifference. At least that meant Soobin felt _something_ for him. 

After Soobin ran out, Yeonjun called Taehyun and went over to his place. He also gave Taehyun Soobin’s abandoned drink. Taehyun didn’t have to ask the origin of the extra drink; Yeonjun guessed that he sorted that out for himself. He talked and talked and talked, and Taehyun let him. Taehyun was a problem solver, but he just listened and didn’t try to fix anything. For that, Yeonjun was grateful. And when Yeonjun was done talking, he asked his friend to speak; about anything, just to distract him. He finally learned more about this Huening Kai boy. Apparently, he had long brown hair and cute legs. Yeonjun found this interesting, as Taehyun usually went for blondes. It had presented an awkward issue when Yeonjun had tried that hair color for a week before deciding it wasn’t for him and switching to pink. He was happy for his friend, but some deep part of him was even happier that his crush wasn’t really going anywhere either. They could stay lonely together.

Not that Yeonjun was giving up. Oh, he could not give up on Soobin. Not before, and certainly not now, after they had spent what had seemed like a perfect day together. Not now, when they had matching bracelets and new clothes that would forever remind them of the boy they purchased them with. 

Besides, giving up was the easy choice. And Yeonjun was never one to back down from a challenge. 

He laid his head back and closed his eyes, pondering his next steps. Maybe a different approach. Maybe he had to pull it back, play it just a bit safer. He hated thinking of relationships- of people- like plans, but that’s something he understood. And he needed that now because he clearly didn’t understand Soobin. 

He jumped up, ran his hands through his blue hair, and started getting dressed. He knew there was something about Soobin, about him and Soobin together, that was worth fighting for. Worth planning for. He headed out of his apartment and put on his headphones and some motivating music. He didn’t have a plan yet, but no matter what he decided, all his plans started at the same place. And though Soobin hadn’t been there the last time Yeonjun had gone, he knew he eventually he would be. All Yeonjun had to do was keep trying. 


	10. Tunes and Topples

Soobin was not entirely sure how he got here, lacing up skates next to Yeonjun, Beomgyu, and Taehyun. Well, technically, he knew _how_ he got there- he took the train- but he still couldn’t quite comprehend everything that had come before it. 

One day he was stewing in his confusion about Yeonjun, and the next, they were talking as if the whole thing had never happened. When Yeonjun walked back into the shop, Soobin realized that he had been missing Yeonjun. He’d been so busy fretting about Yeonjun, and thinking about Yeonjun that he didn’t notice he was _missing_ him. And when the bell chimed, and Yeonjun walked through the doors, Soobin suddenly didn’t care about anything else. He didn’t care if they were going to have some awkward conversation about what happened the last time they saw each other, because that meant they’d actually be talking. Soobin realized right then that Yeonjun could be listing off types of fungi, and he would still be hanging on his every word. 

Luckily, Soobin had worried for nothing because Yeonjun had no interest in rehashing his hasty getaway. No, this time, he apparently wanted to talk about music because he went right up to the shop’s speaker system, connected his own phone, and handed Soobin’s back to him. Before Soobin could even protest, Yeonjun had started playing a new song over the speakers. Soobin didn’t recognize the song; it was so different from his own taste. 

“LOVE by Kendrick Lamar.” 

Soobin was very aware that the first word Yeonjun had said to him in days was the word love. 

That day, they didn’t say much else, just passed Yeonjun’s phone back and forth, queueing up their favorite songs. Just the simple act of sharing their music taught him so much about Yeonjun. Just like the boy himself, whenever he thought he understood his music taste, he would play something completely different. Like when he played Pentatonix after a heavy mix of Travis Scott and SZA. Soobin loved the way Yeonjun couldn’t help but dance to every song and the way he gasped each time one of his songs started playing as if he hadn’t just queued them up minutes ago. 

Soobin wondered what Yeonjun had discerned about him based on his music. Soobin’s own music was bright, poppy, and full of color. He loved it simply because it was happy, and that happiness was infectious. He knew a lot of people thought that kind of music was silly, that it wasn’t real music because it wasn’t _saying_ anything, but he didn’t care about that because Soobin strongly believed that happy art had just as much value as anything the tortured artist might make. It seemed Yeonjun agreed. Or at least, hid his disdain very well after Soobin played an onslaught of Bebe Rexha, Taylor Swift, and Carly Rae Jepsen. He even caught Yeonjun giggling during one particularly goofy song. It was a delight to see Yeonjun enjoy- or at least not hate- something so dear to Soobin. 

The most words they spoke the whole day was right as Yeonjun was about to leave. “Hey, so me and Taehyun are going ice skating on Saturday. I was wondering if you wanted to come with…”

Soobin didn’t know who Taehyun was, and he didn’t want to ruin the moment by asking. “Yes, I’d love to!” Soobin responded, and then it dawned on him. Taehyun could be… and if he was, Soobin didn’t want to go in alone. “Can I invite my friend Beomgyu?” 

“Of course!” They exchanged numbers so Yeonjun could give him details- Soobin couldn’t believe they hadn’t already done this- and Yeonjun went on his way. 

So Soobin guessed that’s how he got here. He wasn’t super thrilled with the idea, especially when Soobin still felt the weight of unresolved tension. Beomgyu, however, was over the moon. As a child, his parents had paid for him to take figure skating lessons, and he was dying to get back on this ice. Soobin was not. He had only gone ice skating once, and it ended in disaster. The whole sport was not for him. The girl behind the counter had taken six minutes to find skates in his size, and Soobin was ready to take that as a sign that he should head home. 

There was also the matter and the mystery of Taehyun. He watched him interact with Yeonjun, and he still couldn’t decipher what they were. 

So the four of them set foot on the ice, one much more tentative than the others.

Immediately, Beomgyu and Taehyun took off, skating with ease. Yeonjun stayed back with Soobin, likely out of pity, as he was clearly struggling. By the time Soobin made it three paces to the main loop of the rink, Beomgyu and Taehyun were already back, having finished their first lap. Beomgyu celebrated with a fancy sort of jump and twirl. 

Taehyun just gaped at Beomgyu’s display of skill. “Can you… can you show me how to do that?”

And just like that, the two were off, and Soobin and Yeonjun were alone again.

Soobin was glad for the fact that there weren’t many other people around because his skating was quite dreadful. Instead of gliding, he was just picking up his feet and taking tiny steps.

“You really don’t know how to do this, do you?” Yeonjun laughed.

“Was it that obvious?”

“Lucky guess.”

“I’ve only ever skated once before, and an old lady fell on me.”

“What?” Yeonjun yelped, and several heads turned to look at the pair.

“Don’t laugh, it’s not funny!” Soobin scolded as he could tell Yeonjun was about to bubble over with laughter. “Okay, I guess it’s a little funny.” 

“How did that happen?”

“I was like eight? I think? It was for Beomgyu’s birthday. His parents are rich, so they rented out the whole rink for his party. And, as you can imagine, I was awful. So one of my friend’s moms tried to help me. She grabbed my hands and skated with me. But she wasn’t as good as she thought she was. I don’t remember how it happened, but somehow, I fell to the ground, and she landed on top of me. I had a massive bruise on my leg for weeks, I thought I broke it,” Soobin huffed out a laugh at his own story. “Though I guess she wasn’t actually an old lady. More like middle-aged.”

“Yes, because that’s the important part of that story. How’s about this? I’ll help you skate, and I promise not to fall on you.”

“She probably promised not to fall on me either.” 

Yeonjun lightly smacked Soobin on the shoulder for that, which was a mistake because it was enough to cause Soobin to lose balance and topple over. 

Yeonjun tried to help Soobin up, but Soobin refused his help, saying, “Hey, you’re sabotaging me!”

“I am not! I just didn’t know you were _that_ bad!”

“I just told you I was!” Soobin managed to get himself up on his own and dusted himself off. 

“Okay, okay, okay. I’ll be gentler this time.” Yeonjun reached for his hand, but Soobin fell over to avoid holding it. Not that it was very hard for him to do. 

Once he was up again, Soobin said, “Can you just show me how to actually skate and not just walk with these death traps on?” 

“Sure, watch me.” Yeonjun took a few paces, gliding over the ice. Soobin tried his best to copy the movement. “Better!” Yeonjun encouraged.

This went on for what seemed like forever to Soobin. Not that he wasn’t enjoying the time with Yeonjun, but he just really hated skating. And he was not getting any better. “Elsa would be disappointed,” he muttered to himself.

“What?” Yeonjun asked, but Soobin guessed by his small smirk that he had heard perfectly well. 

Just as Soobin was thinking about how not awkward this was, he saw Beomgyu and Taehyun out of the corner of his eye. And that _was_ awkward.

The two must have been taking a break from Taehyun’s ice skating lesson as they were leaning against the side of the rink. Very close to each other. _Very_ close. And Beomgyu was playing with his hair. Something Soobin had seen him do countless times before. When he was flirting. And Taehyun looked very happy about that.

He had to tell Yeonjun? Right? 

“Um, Yeonjun.”

“Yes?” Yeonjun turned to look at him, his eyes bright.

“I don’t know how to say this to you, but I think your boyfriend is flirting with my best friend.” He pointed to where the blonde and brunette were standing.

Yeonjun just started cackling. Soobin knew that people coped with things in different ways, but he couldn’t help but think that this was a weird reaction. 

Once Yeonjun had finally pulled himself together enough to speak, he said, “Taehyun isn’t my boyfriend!” And then he collapsed back into his giggle fit. 

“He’s not?”

“No! I don’t have a boyfriend!”

“You don’t?”

“I know, it’s hard to believe someone as fine as me is still single.”

Soobin suddenly felt like he had been acting very silly. 

Now, it was Soobin who rolled his eyes and pushed Yeonjun. But somehow, Soobin was still the one to fall over.

“Come on, let’s finish your lesson. You clearly still need help.”

This time, when Yeonjun reached for his hand, Soobin let him take it. 


	11. Taehyun's Intermission

Taehyun had never been in this situation before. 

Yeonjun had always called him “picky.” Taehyun preferred the word “selective.” They meant the same thing, but his word sounded nicer. 

Due to his… selective tendencies, Taehyun rarely found himself feeling this way about people. Probably because he wasn’t nearly as sentimental as Yeonjun, though he did consider himself a hopeless romantic. Taehyun desperately wanted to be swept off his feet, wanted someone to trip over themselves trying to impress him. The problem was that he never was, and no one ever tried. 

That’s was frustrated him so much about Huening Kai. _He_ was the one doing all the work. Which was the exact antithesis of what he wanted. But he was cute and funny and smart. Not as smart as Taehyun, of course, but he tried his best.

But with Beomgyu… The entire time he was with Beomgyu, no one else even crossed his mind. Not even Yeonjun and Soobin, who were very clearly staring at the two of them from across the ice rink. All he cared about was learning how to do those little jumps and twirls that Beomgyu did. And then all he cared about was Beomgyu. He couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was about Beomgyu, but Taehyun thought that made it better. Made it more magical, like he’d always wanted it to be. And in the subsequent times they’d seen each other, it seemed to always be getting better.

Taehyun loved learning new things. And with Beomgyu, he was always learning. How to ice skate, how to play guitar. But also about Beomgyu. How he’d learned to do all these things. About his pet parrot, who he’d had to leave home when he started university. Why he chose to keep dyeing his hair blonde, despite the toll it took on his scalp. Everything he learned about Beomgyu just intrigued him more, like he could take a whole class on him and still not know enough. 

So this was his issue. Taehyun, who rarely even liked one person, had found himself liking two. 

He felt a tap on his shoulder, jolting him out of his trance. He turned to see it was Huening Kai.

“Hey, um, class is over, I don’t know if you noticed. You were just sitting there.” 

Taehyun looked around, and sure enough, the room was empty except for the two of them. 

Then he turned back to look at Kai, and something clicked into place. Or out of place, but in a good way. He didn’t know how it happened or when it happened, but suddenly he was looking at the boy in a different light. Like he had been glowing before, but now he had faded. He looked… mortal. Taehyun realized he had built up this whole idea of Huening Kai in his head. But he was just a boy. Taehyun still thought he was cute, but in a more objective, factual way. 

“Um, yeah, thanks.”

Kai moved to leave the room, but Taehyun said, “Wait! I have something I want to talk about.”

He took a deep breath. “So, I don’t really know how to say this, but I used to like you. But I don’t anymore. I don’t know why I’m telling you this, but I thought you should know.”

The younger boy’s eyes widened. “You liked me?”

“You really couldn’t tell? I gave you flowers all the time.”

Kai shrugged. “I thought that was just because we were friends. That’s why you were doing that?” He paused. “Wait, does this mean we can’t be friends?” He suddenly looked very sad. 

“No! Of course, we can still be friends! Pal,” Taehyun said while punching him on the arm.

“Please don’t ever call me pal again.”

“Yeah, I hated it as soon as I said it.”

Taehyun packed up his things, and the two boys left the room together.

“So, you liked me? Thanks. That’s really cool.” 

Taehyun let out a great, ugly laugh. 

Huening Kai looked confused. “What’s wrong with what I said?

“I just told you that I liked you and all you had to say was ‘cool.’”

“It is cool! Anyways, why don’t you like me anymore? Is it the hair? My mom hasn’t taken me to get a haircut for ages.” Huening Kai gasped and twisted his face in horror. “Is it because you found out my favorite movie is Camp Rock? Cause a lot of people make fun of me when I say that.”

“No, it wasn’t any of- wait, is it really? Nevermind, that’s a discussion for a different day.” Huening Kai made a squeal of glee at that like he couldn’t believe this friendship was lasting a second day. “No, it was because I met another guy that I think I really like.”

“Okay, clearly, I don’t know what I’m doing, but I think you should go tell him that instead of standing here talking to me.”

“That’s the smartest thing you’ve said today.” And then Taehyun took off in a run, hearing Kai yell an offended “Hey!” at his back.

Taehyun did not know how he didn’t get stopped for speeding on his way to Beomgyu’s place, but the universe seemed to be on his side. 

He knocked on the door, willing Beomgyu to open it before he lost his nerve. Though, when Beomgyu opened it, he almost did. Seeing Beomgyu in a loose white t-shirt and baggy plaid pants did things to Taehyun’s head and heart that made him want to run and hide.

“Taehyun? What are you doing here?” 

“Listen, so I know we haven’t known each other that long, and I don’t really know what to say now like I’ve never really done this before, but um, I guess here goes nothing. I like you. Like I think you’re really pretty and cute. Wait, does that sound like I only like you for your looks? Because I swear, I don’t. I mean I do like your face don’t get me wrong, but that’s not _all_ I like-”

“Taehyun.”

“Yes?”

“You’re rambling. That’s my thing,” Beomgyu smirked.

Taehyun sighed. “I like you. And I wanted to do something about that. So here I am.”

Beomgyu wrapped his arms around Taehyun and gave him the tightest, warmest hug he’d ever received. “I like you too.” He whispered, just loud enough for Taehyun to hear. Then, while still latched together, Beomgyu leaned back, lifting Taehyun just enough that he was no longer touching the ground. Literally sweeping him off his feet. 


	12. The Blanket

Things had changed. For the better. Yeonjun had no idea why. Not that he was complaining. 

Somehow, ever since they went ice skating, everything with Soobin had been easier. He’d been more receptive of Yeonjun, not shying away or yanking his hand back when it “accidentally” brushed up against Yeonjun’s. If he’d known this would happen, he would’ve taken Soobin ice skating a long time ago. Since then, the pair had been spending even more time together at the shop and elsewhere. They’d had lunches and dinners and coffees together. Yeonjun found himself spending almost as much money on food these past couple weeks as he had spent on flowers in the months he’d been going to the shop. 

But today, he would not be spending money. Today Soobin was coming over. Today was also the day Yeonjun was going to tell Soobin about his feelings. He’d been holding it back for long enough already. It was time he did something about this thing between him. It was time he stopped getting in his own way.

He had everything set up. He had folded and refolded the blanket on the couch four times because he thought it looked too lumpy for Soobin to lay eyes on. He had rented his favorite movies and even asked Taehyun to find out Soobin’s favorite movie from Beomgyu. The two of them seemed to have become very good friends in a short amount of time. 

Yeonjun was pacing around the kitchen, trying to decide if he should make the popcorn now or later when he heard a soft knock at the door. For a moment, he panicked, certain that nothing was good enough, and Soobin would hate it all. But then he realized that every second he panicked was a second that Soobin was waiting for him, so he bolted to the door. 

As soon as he opened it, he knew instantly there would be no confessions of love today. 

Red, puffy eyes greeted him, Soobin’s cheeks still shiny from the wet remains of recent tears. 

“Soobin…”

“I’m sorry, I was already at your building when she called me, and now I’m just… I’ll just go,” he turned to leave.

“No!” Yeonjun yelped, making both of them jump. “I mean no, you should stay. If you’d like.”

Soobin didn’t say anything, just nodded, walked in, and closed the door behind him. As he did this, the tears started anew.

“Hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong? Can I do anything?”

Soobin looked like he was about to speak, but he couldn’t get any words out. He opened his mouth and just started sputtering, and this only made him cry harder. 

“Soobin, Soobin, please look at me,” Yeonjun gently placed his hands on either of Soobin’s arms. “Deep breaths, okay? Do what I do.” Yeonjun took three long deep breaths, Soobin doing his best to follow along. “Better?” Soobin just nodded. 

“Here, let’s sit you down,” Yeonjun directed Soobin to the couch and wrapped him in the blanket that he’d been so worried about just minutes ago. Yeonjun sat next to Soobin, facing him. “You don’t need to say anything, just know that I’m here for you.”

“It was my mom,” Soobin said, to the surprise of both of them. And once he started talking, it was like he couldn’t stop, like the words were tumbling out of him and he couldn’t control it. “She’s the one who called. She and my dad wanted to talk about my major.” Yeonjun recalled that Soobin hadn’t picked one yet. “They don’t know why it’s taken me this long to decide.” He wiped his face. “I don’t even know why I’m crying, they weren’t even angry or mean. But I could just tell they were so disappointed. I could hear it in their voices.” His own voice broke on that last word. 

“You must think that’s a really stupid thing to cry about,” Soobin huffed out a hollow laugh. And when he looked up at Yeonjun, he realized he’d never seen Soobin look this small before.

Yeonjun wasn’t really sure what the appropriate thing to say in this situation was. He settled on, “No, that’s not stupid at all.”

“It’s just that I’ve never let my parents down before. I’ve always been the perfect son, done everything to make them happy. And I love them so much, so I want to make them proud of me, but it’s tough. Like I’ve set too high of expectations for myself.”

Yeonjun scooched closer and reached for Soobin’s hand, testing the waters. When Soobin let him take it, Yeonjun ran his thumb in circles around his knuckles. “This is a big decision, and they love you. I’m sure they’ll understand if you take your time with it, even if that’s not what they want.”

Soobin pulled a faint smile, the last of his tears still resting on his cheeks. Yeonjun ached to wipe them away but didn’t want to push his luck. “The thing is, I’ve already made a decision, but I know they wouldn’t approve.”

“What is it?”

“I want to do music.”

“Really?” Yeonjun was delighted at this new insight into Soobin.

“Or psychology. But mainly music. I don’t really talk about it because it’s kind of impractical, but I think somehow I’ve always felt like it’s what I should be doing.”

“You know,” Yeonjun smiled, “I’ve always really wanted to do dancing. We could start our own show.”

“Shut up,” Soobin said, but he was laughing. Yeonjun felt a jolt of pride for helping turn his mood around. 

“I’m being serious! We could do it, you know. I’m really good at dancing! I mean I guess it’s possible that you suck at singing so maybe we couldn’t. But with a pretty face like yours, it doesn’t even matter if you’re any good. People will be lining up for you no matter what.” And Yeonjun intended to be at the front of that line.

Soobin smacked his arm, a slight pink blush creeping onto his cheeks. 

Yeonjun looked at Soobin, his eyes still red but now dry, giggling because of something stupid he had said, and he realized just how much he longed to kiss him. He didn’t, only because Soobin was going through something, and he didn’t want to add any confusion or complications to that, but it certainly was nice to think about.

As their laughter settled, Soobin’s face fell, like the weight of everything had come back when the laughter left. 

“Hey, um, can I hug you?” Yeonjun nervously bit his lip as he asked.

“You know you don’t have to ask.”

Yeonjun tossed the blanket out of the way and embraced Soobin. He played with Soobin’s hair while they did so, partly to keep him calm, but mostly because he’d always wanted to. 

They didn’t let go for a while. They were enveloped in each other long enough that by the time they let go, Soobin’s face was free from any signs of his previous distress. Now he just looked… contented.

“Thank you, Yeonjun. For listening. And being here.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll always be here to listen.”

The two boys spent the rest of the day watching their favorite movies under the same blanket.


	13. Questions

“So, I took your advice. I now double major in music and psychology.” Soobin was leaning over the counter with his hands neatly folded in front of him. “My parents only know about the psychology part for now, but they were really happy with it.”

“Yay! Congratulations!” Yeonjun cheered for him. “You know, that’s a fun combination. Maybe you can like, make music that messes with people’s minds. Like musical mind control!”

“You are way too excited about that. Now I can see why you’re a Slyther-” the chime of a bell sounded, and out of habit, Soobin straightened out to greet the new customer. He sagged back down again when he saw it was Yeonjun’s friend Taehyun. He was with another boy with long brown hair and a young face.

“Hey! I didn’t know you would be here.” Taehyun said. “Well I knew Soobin would be here, cause he works here, but I didn’t know you would be here, Yeonjun.”

“Oh, he’s always here.” Soobin tried to sound annoyed but was afraid he sounded more enamored than anything. Yeonjun shot him a glare.

“Oh!” Taehyun said like he just remembered. “This is Huening Kai.”

The name must have meant something to Yeonjun because his eyebrows jumped up.

“Huening Kai? Like _the_ Huening Kai? Wait, are you guys dating now? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”

To that, Taehyun said a flat, “Um, no.” Kai made an exaggerated barfing sound. “Hurtful,” Taehyun chirped at his tall friend. 

“Wait, so you’re not dating?” Yeonjun asked.

“Nope. But I am dating Beomgyu. That’s why we’re here. I wanna get him some flowers, and Kai is really good at picking them out.”

“But, you were giving him all the flowers I was giving you, right? But now you’re with Beomgyu? How does that work?” 

Soobin’s ears perked up at Yeonjun’s first question.

Kai chimed in, his first contribution to the conversation, “Yeah, he liked me, and can you blame him? But I had no idea he liked me until he told me he _didn’t_ like me anymore. I was actually giving all the flowers to my mom. You see, there’s this big bunny plushie I wanted-” he paused to look at Soobin, “You know, the plushie actually kind of looks like you. Anyways, I wanted it, so I gave all the flowers to my mom to bribe her, I guess. And it worked!”

This was a lot of information for Soobin to process all at once. He wasn’t even sure this Kai kid was real. And he did not know how he felt about being compared to a stuffed rabbit.

Yeonjun still didn’t seem entirely convinced, “So you’re dating someone else, but you still hang out with someone you used to like?”

“Yeah,” Taehyun shrugged. “It’s not weird. I told Beomgyu about it, and he seemed okay with it.”

“Oh yeah!” Soobin suddenly remembered. “Beomgyu said something to me about that, and he actually is totally cool with it.”

Yeonjun whirled to face him, “You knew about this? Why was I the last person to find out my best friend had a boyfriend?”

Taehyun responded under his breath, and the only thing Soobin could hear was his own name. 

Yeonjun sat down to fume about being left out of the loop while Taehyun and Huening Kai approached the counter to look at flowers.

Taehyun pointed at some yellow roses, “What about those? Do you think Beomgyu would like them?”

Kai made a disgusted face. “Yellow? Really? Yellow symbolizes friendship, dummy! Do you want him to dump you?” 

Soobin watched as Kai kept advising Taehyun and was surprised by the younger’s knowledge. “You ever thought about getting a job here?”

“Are you guys hiring?” Kai’s eyes shone at the prospect of being surrounded by flowers all day. 

“Not right now, but pretty soon I’ll be taking on a heavier class load, and we’ll need an extra pair of hands around to pick up some of my hours.”

Eventually, Taehyun settled on a bouquet of carnations of assorted colors, much to Huening Kai’s dismay. 

“When he breaks up with you, don’t come crying to me.”

“Oh, shut up!” 

Soobin could see now how this feisty boy in front of him was a perfect match for his feisty best friend. 

As the two friends left the shop, Taehyun shouted, “Thank you, Soobin! And Yeonjun, sorry for not telling you about my boyfriend!”

Once they were gone, Soobin turned towards Yeonjun. “So… I have some questions.”

Yeonjun sighed and then smirked, “Yeah, I thought you would.”

“So you were buying flowers and giving them to Taehyun, and he was giving them to Huening Kai, and he was giving them to his mom?”

Yeonjun stuck his hands in his pockets. “It appears so. Though I didn’t know about Kai’s mom until now.”

“Why?”

“Well, cause apparently no one tells me anything.”

“Not why you didn’t know. Why were you buying all those flowers? I mean, I saw how much money you were spending, and-”

“I bought them so I could see you.” Yeonjun avoided eye contact. Soobin had never seen him this shy before. 

“Oh.” That was all Soobin could manage to say. 

“I would understand if you wanted me to leave. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“No! This is just a lot of new information. But good information.” That earned a smile from Yeonjun, but the other boy stayed silent, so Soobin kept talking. “You see, I thought you were buying all those flowers because you had a boyfriend or a girlfriend or something.”

“Wait, really? Wow, you’re stupid.”

“Hey! What else was I supposed to think? You were buying so many flowers, and you look like that, how could you not be with someone? I just thought you were a really good boyfriend.”

“I mean, I _am_ a really good boyfriend, I just haven’t been anyone’s boyfriend for a really long time.” Yeonjun’s face changed like he was having a realization of his own. “That’s why things have been different since we went skating; because you found out I’m single.”

“And that’s why I kind of… ran away that one day. I thought you were like, cheating, by being with me. I felt so guilty, and I couldn’t face you for a while.”

“God, it’s good that you’re cute because you are dumb.”

“You’re dumb too! I am not alone in this! Wasting all your money on flowers instead of just talking to me? I think that’s dumber than anything I did.”

“You liked me and weren’t doing anything about it! That’s pretty dumb!” Yeonjun pointed out.

“Oh yeah, because you were doing _so_ much.”

“Well, I _was_ gonna tell you, and then I didn’t.”

“Wow.”

“You were crying, I thought that was a bad time.”

Soobin was suddenly furious at his overactive tear ducts for being the reason Yeonjun wasn’t already his boyfriend. 

Throughout the whole conversation, Yeonjun had been drifting towards Soobin, and now they were face to face, both boys leaning towards the other from opposite sides of the counter. They were close enough that Soobin could smell Yeonjun’s minty breath. 

“So, what do we do now?” Yeonjun whispered.

“I honestly have no idea.”

“That was a rhetorical question. There is only one thing we can do.”

“Wait, really?”

“Duh, we become boyfriends.”

“Just like that?” Soobin marveled at the sudden ease of all this.

“Just like that.”

“Oh, then, yeah, let’s do that.”

“How is it that we spent all that time being absolute idiots and then become boyfriends in the most anticlimactic way ever?”

“Do you want me to like blow up the shop or something? That would be really climactic.” 

Soobin could tell that Yeonjun really did like him because he laughed at that, even though it wasn’t funny at all. Yeonjun, his boyfriend. Soobin didn’t know if he would ever get used to thinking of him like that. Like the idea of Yeonjun being his boyfriend would always be new and fresh and exciting. 

When their giggling stopped, which took a while as the weight of their stupidity kept hitting them, causing them to laugh harder, they locked eyes. 

“I’d really like to kiss you right now,” Yeonjun said dreamily.

Soobin smiled. “Too bad.”

“What?”

“I’m working! I can’t kiss you right now!”

Yeonjun made a big show of looking around the shop. “There are no customers! There are never any customers!”

“Taehyun was literally just here!”

“That little liar doesn’t count.” Clearly, he was still upset about being the last to know about Taehyun and Beomgyu.

“Okay, but there could be customers at any time!”

“But there won’t be.” Yeonjun’s pout was so cute that Soobin almost threw out the rules and kissed him right then and there. “Anyways, you flirt with me all the time while you work, how is kissing any different?”

“In my defense, I don’t actually know how to flirt, so any on the job flirting was unintentional.”

“Fine. How much longer is your shift?”

“I’ve got about two hours until I close up. You can come back then.”

“No.”

“No?”

Yeonjun walked over to a table and flopped into a chair. “I’m not coming back because I’m not leaving. I’m gonna sit here for two hours until you kiss me.”

“Okay, suit yourself.” Soobin couldn’t believe how much free time Yeonjun had. 

Five minutes into his sit-in, Yeonjun was already bored. Soobin could tell this from his constant stream of questions and checking the time every few seconds.

“Soobin, did you ever write any songs about me?” Yeonjun whined.

“No,” Soobin paused, not entirely sure he was ready to expose himself like this, “but you are the star of my journal.”

“I am?” Yeonjun almost jumped out of his seat.

“Hold on,” Soobin ran to the back room where his journal sat in his backpack. He decided to show it to Yeonjun because he wanted to shut him up for a little bit, but also because there was nothing to hide anymore. 

That turned out to be a mistake because Yeonjun reading excerpts from his journal out loud was almost worse than his barrage of “How much time is left?”

“Aw, Soobin! ‘Today, Yeonjun said my name for the first time.’ You were _smitten_ smitten!” 

Those were somehow the two best hours of his life and the two most annoying hours of his life. 

Yeonjun almost squealed when Soobin locked the door and flipped the sign from “Open” to “Closed.”

“Not yet. I still have to put the money away and put all the flowers in the fridge.”

“That’s okay. I’ve waited this long, what’s a little longer?” Soobin laughed because he knew the wait was not as easy for Yeonjun as he claimed it was. 

No matter how much he wanted to take a long time just to tease Yeonjun, he too was sick of waiting. He finished his closing duties in record time. He clocked out, shut off the lights in the front of the store, and grabbed Yeonjun’s wrist. 

He dragged him behind the counter and into the employees only area. 

“What is this place?”

“This is the back room. And that’s the employee exit and-”

“You know, I don’t really care about that right now.” Yeonjun cupped Soobin’s face and pulled him into a kiss. 

Soobin was shocked at first and unsure of how to react. But then he closed his eyes, placed his hands on Yeonjun’s waist, and followed his boyfriend’s lead. 

Soobin had never kissed anyone before. He’d always read it described it as fireworks or a lightning strike. But this felt safe and gentle and magical. Like instead of fireworks, there was an army of little fairies throwing their magic dust all over them. 

It was short but long enough for Soobin to tell that he was going to become addicted to kissing very soon if he wasn’t careful. 

When they broke apart, he had one last question for Yeonjun. “Was it worth the wait?”

“Yes. But only barely.” And then they kissed again, making up for lost time. 


	14. Twelve Roses

For his first official date with Soobin, Yeonjun was pulling out all the stops. They’d had a lengthy and somewhat heated discussion on whether or not all those times they went out or spent time together before they became boyfriends counted. Yeonjun argued that they did, in fact, count because he put a lot of effort into his outfits and worked hard to impress Soobin. Soobin did not want them to count because he did not want to look back on their first date and how he spent the whole time thinking Yeonjun already had a boyfriend. Eventually, they decided they didn’t count, and Yeonjun took this opportunity to make their first date perfect. He had it all planned out. First, he made reservations at his favorite restaurant, and then he was going to take Soobin to the park, where they would lay out and look at the stars. 

Yeonjun rarely used his car- there was really no need for it when everything was in walking distance, and the public transportation system worked well enough for anything further away- but tonight, he wanted to pick Soobin up. And when he did, he greeted him was a quick peck on the lips. 

“Nice sweater.” Soobin was wearing the green and blue striped sweater Yeonjun had chosen for him.

“Thanks, my boyfriend picked it out for me.”

“He’s got great taste. Come on, let’s go.”

Yeonjun drove them to the restaurant, but at a stoplight, he grabbed Soobin’s hand and held it over the center console. They were both still wearing their matching sun and moon bracelets, despite not planning on it. They had them on opposite wrists, so that when they held hands, the charms were together, as they were meant to be. 

When they arrived at the restaurant, Yeonjun rushed to open Soobin’s door like the gentleman he was. 

Then he marched right up to the host and said, “We have reservations for two under Choi Yeonjun.” 

The host look through his stack of papers. “We don’t have any reservations under that name.”

“What? Can you check again?”

“I’m sorry, but there are no more reservations on our list for the night. And as you can see, we don’t have any more seats available,” he gestured to the packed dining area. 

Yeonjun felt his face heat. His perfectly planned date was unraveling in front of him. “There must be some kind of mistake-”

Soobin squeezed his hand. “Come on.” Yeonjun let Soobin lead him out. 

“I’m so sorry, Soobin. I don’t know what happened.”

“Hey, hey, look at me,” Yeonjun met Soobin’s eyes. “We can eat anywhere, it doesn’t matter where we go, okay?”

Yeonjun nodded. He could still turn this night around. “I know the perfect place to go.”

Twenty minutes later, the pair emerged into the night, ice cream cones in hand.

“We’re adults, we can have ice cream for dinner,” Yeonjun insisted.

“Agreed. Just don’t try to kiss me with that mint chocolate breath.”

Just for that, Yeonjun denied him the next time Soobin went in for a kiss.

Once they finished their ice cream, Yeonjun drove them to the park for the remainder of their evening. He grabbed a blanket from the trunk of his car and spread it out. He invited Soobin to lie down next to him.

After five minutes of stargazing, Yeonjun, restless as ever, said, “This is it?”

“What is it?”

“Aren’t the stars supposed to like, do something?”

“You planned this! Didn’t you know what you were getting into?” Yeonjun could hear the laugh in his voice.

Yeonjun opened his mouth to reply, but at that very moment, a big, fat droplet of water landed in the middle of his forehead.

Within seconds, the skies opened up, and rain started pouring down on them. Just Yeonjun’s luck.

He and Soobin grabbed the blanket and ran for the car, Soobin shoving it into the backseat.

The rain was cold, and that made the hot tears on Yeonjun’s cheeks all the more obvious to him. Soobin must have noticed him just standing there, not getting into the car, because he rushed to Yeonjun’s side.

“It’s all ruined!” Yeonjun shouted over the rain. “I wanted to make this perfect for you, but I got it all wrong.”

“Yeonjun! I had an amazing time tonight. I don’t care about all those other things. I just wanna be with you.”

“But we’re getting soaked!”

“That’s okay! There’s something I’ve always wanted to do.” Soobin grabbed Yeonjun by the collar and pulled him closer, their lips meeting in the middle. They were wet and cold, but that made the warmth from their bodies and lips radiate even more. The kiss was salty and tasted like rain and mint chocolate and vanilla in a wonderfully weird sort of combination. Yeonjun was already standing on the tips of his toes, but he tried to make himself even taller, to be even closer to Soobin. 

When they came up for air, raindrops stuck to their eyelashes like dew on a spring morning. 

Soobin giggled. “That’s what they do in all the movies. I always wanted to try it.”

Yeonjun didn’t know what to say, so they just stood there, smiling at each other in the pouring rain.

  
/////

  
Yeonjun was sick of couples. Well, not _couples_. More like just _couple_. He loved Taehyun and Beomgyu, but he also found it unbearable to be alone in their presence for very long. Like he was doing today since Soobin was working and couldn’t save him from third-wheeling. He wasn’t sure why they even invited him out today if they were just gonna be so disgustingly in love the whole time. In his opinion, disgustingly in love was a look that only worked on him and Soobin. Though, he didn’t mind when Beomgyu paid for all their lunches just to impress Taehyun. Maybe they weren’t so bad. 

Finally, they were ending their day together at the shop. At Yeonjun’s insistence, of course. Yeonjun walked into the shop, breathed in its familiar scent, and walked right over to the counter. “God, I missed you so much, I can’t stand these two.” Then he planted a kiss on Soobin’s cheek.

“Hey! I’m working!”

“It’s okay! I figured it out! You can’t get in trouble because you didn’t do anything wrong! You were just standing there innocently when I attacked you with kisses!” Yeonjun put on his best pout.

“Your mind amazes me,” Soobin said before displaying his cheek for Yeonjun to kiss again. Which he did. 

A quiet gagging sound reminded Yeonjun that Kai was behind the counter too. He looked cute with his apron and little name tag. “Hey, how’s your first day of training?”

“It was great until you showed up!” 

“Aw, baby Kai doesn’t like couples,” Beomgyu giggled and then pulled Taehyun in for a kiss, only causing Kai to be even more disgusted. 

“Stop that! You are ruining the sanctity of this place!”

“Fine,” the other four said in unison. 

“So, has Soobin been giving you a rough time?” Yeonjun asked Kai.

“Actually,” Soobin answered, “he’s been spending the whole day telling me everything that we do wrong here, so that’s fun.”

Yeonjun squeezed Kai’s cheeks, “Good, we need someone to keep him humble.”

Kai rubbed his cheeks where Yeonjun’s hands had been. “This is no laughing matter. Those daisies would have died an early death if I hadn’t intervened.”

“So, clearly, we’re having a great time,” Soobin deadpanned. 

“We all still on for game night tonight at my place?” Beomgyu asked.

“Okay, but this time can we not do any team games?” Huening Kai whined. “I always end up third-wheeling, and that’s just gross.”

Yeonjun decided to tease the youngest. “Is our little Kai lonely? Do we need to fix him up with somebody.”

“I really need new friends.” Kai sighed. 

“Fine. We’ll do Monopoly or something.” Beomgyu conceded. 

“Shouldn’t you guys like, leave? Not to be mean or anything, but I still have a day left of training.”

“It’s okay,” Soobin said, “dealing with cute boys who never leave is like half the job.” He winked at Yeonjun. 

“Then maybe I should quit.”

“Okay, we get it! We’ll leave now. But first,” Yeonjun kissed Soobin’s cheek one more time before he left with Beomgyu and Taehyun. 

“See you tonight!” Taehyun shouted as they walked out the door. 

That night, like promised, they played Monopoly for hours. Kai situated himself squarely between Beomgyu and Taehyun. Yeonjun took that to mean that they were more unbearable of a couple than him and Soobin. He didn’t know if he should be flattered or if they should work harder to annoy Kai. 

Taehyun ended up winning, to no one’s surprise. Yeonjun was usually very competitive, but tonight he didn’t mind. He was just happy to have a fun night in with his boyfriend and his best friends. Sometimes he couldn’t quite understand how their little group formed and got so close so quickly. Yeonjun was not one to leave things up to the fates, but he supposed they might have had something to do with it. And he was thankful for those little helpers.

“Up for round two?” Taehyun asked, eager to beat them all again. 

And though they all were tired, and half of them had to be up early, they all stayed for round two.

  
/////

  
Yeonjun wasn’t sure why Soobin had asked him to come to the shop, especially this close to closing time. By the time he got there, Soobin was already taking the money to the back. He had left the door unlocked so Yeonjun could get in. 

“Hey,” he said when he walked in. “So, what’s this about?”

“Hold on!” Soobin said and bolted to the backroom. He came out seconds later with his hands behind his back. “I wanted to give you these here, because well, this is where everything happened for us. And I thought it was ironic that I hadn’t gotten you any flowers yet, so…” Soobin pulled out a bouquet of blue roses. “I dyed them myself. I mean I dye pretty much all of the flowers that need dyeing but-”

“I love them. Is there any significance to the color?” If being with Soobin had taught him anything, it was that flowers had meaning.

“I’m sure there is, but I don’t know it. Not a lot of people want blue flowers. That’s more of a Huening Kai thing anyways. But I did remember you say blue was your favorite color. I tried to make it match your hair, but the color’s a little too dark.”

“Soobin. I love them,” Yeonjun repeated.

Soobin gulped. Yeonjun could tell he was nervous about something. “Well, um, there isn’t any significance in the color, but there is significance in the number.”

Yeonjun counted the roses. “Twelve?”

“A dozen- or twelve- roses is supposed to mean a declaration of sorts.”

Oh.

Soobin continued, “We haven’t been dating for very long, and I’m not quite ready to say those words yet, but I’m on my way. So I thought I would let these do the talking for me.”

Yeonjun took the flowers from him and breathed in their sharp scent. He admired the bouquet. The flowers that said what Soobin couldn’t quite get himself to say out loud.

_I love you._

“Soobin.”

“Yes?”

“I would give you twelve roses too.”

_I love you too._


	15. Lists pt. 2

  
A familiar page from Soobin’s journal, except now the page is full, and there are two sets of handwriting. 

  
Yeonjun 

1\. Soft yet sharp eyes  
2\. The way he says my name  
3\. The shape of his mouth   
4\. He’s not afraid to express himself  
5\. He smiles when we kiss  
6\. He always does the most for me  
_7\. His chiseled and god-like body_ -let the record show Yeonjun wrote that, not me- _but it’s true._

  
_Soobin_

_1\. His cute little nose_  
_2\. His weird, screechy laugh_  
_3\. He’s tall, but still likes to be the little spoon_  
_4\. He can’t listen to music without humming along_  
_5\. He makes everyone around him feel important_  
_6\. I love him._

  
Years later, Yeonjun would tear that page out and put it in a cheap frame as a gift to Soobin. It would sit on display in the home they shared for years. And when the frame broke, Soobin would work all night to fix it. Of course, he was never very handy. So, they would tuck the page away in a drawer for safekeeping. Until Soobin snuck it out and put in a book of their memories, with pictures and ticket stubs and love letters. And receipts from a little flower shop, forgotten by everyone except the boys it brought together. He would give it to Yeonjun on one of their many anniversaries. And there it would stay, preserved forever. 

But that’s all in the future, years away. For now, the page stayed in Soobin’s journal, and every night he looked at it and read it over. And every night, he fell asleep with a smile on his face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end! If you took the time to comment or leave kudos or even just read the whole thing, thank you so much! It means a lot to me and I hope this story made you smile. I really loved writing it and will definitely write more fics in the future. In the meantime you can find me on Twitter @froghyuka and bully me into writing more fics there! Again, thank you all so much! I would give each and every one of you twelve roses <3
> 
> [click here to read my new fic!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24797515/chapters/59969755)


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